Chapter 641 Both sides of the door
"Well……"
Onizuka Kiriho woke up in total darkness.
She felt like she was falling into a pool of water, and her white clothes and scarves were soaked with moisture, and the moisture stuck to her skin.
"Where am I?"
Onizuka groped her way up from the ground, her movements causing a noisy sound of rushing water.
I touched the talismans I carried with me, and sure enough, the talisman papers had been completely soaked, and most of them had become wrinkled.
However, even though they have been soaked in water, these talismans are not completely unusable.
They are not that fragile yet.
And in fact, with Onizuka's strength, he has long been able to use his own spiritual power to form a spirit out of thin air, and can freely use various platycodon techniques.
The main reason why I still carry talismans with me is because it is faster to activate spells with talismans prepared in advance.
Moreover, using the talisman paper as a support to cast spells consumes less spiritual energy than making spells out of thin air.
The little witch deftly twisted out a wet spell-making yellow charm with her fingers, and spread her palm downwards.
Her spiritual power gathered in the palm of her hand, and became visible to the naked eye, like a thick golden shining Dettol.
The yellow talisman was instantly dried by the gentle and hot power.
Onizuka Kiriho shook her finger, and the talisman turned into golden light particles that spread around.
The steady bright light makes the surrounding scene visible clearly.
"Am I...in a cave?"
Onizuka saw the thick and moist rock walls around him. Strange-shaped stalactites were growing everywhere, and they were illuminated by faint spots of light.
I saw the water under my body up to my ankles.
The soaked miko uniform clung to her body, and the half-translucent white scarf outlined the girl's graceful and exquisite body. There were constant drops of water dripping from the hem of the clothes, and the drops fell into the stagnant water, causing small ripples and the sound of water echoing.
Onizuka didn't like the feeling of being soaked in his clothes.
She casually took out another talisman and lit it on her fingertips.
A red, warm and hot power enveloped her whole body, quickly drying her clothes and hair, and also turning the remaining talismans into a dry state.
Except for the fact that the white foot bags were still soaked in the accumulated water and the skin of the feet was wet and sticky, my body felt much better.
Then the light came on, and Onizuka continued to observe his surroundings.
The water on the ground looked a little turbid and had a strange scarlet color.
But there is no big smell, and you can see the situation on the ground through the water.
Under the water there seems to be a huge, concave five-pointed star array.
"It looks like Seimei Kikyo's pentagram."
In the center of the array is a stone platform about two meters long and half a meter wide.
The surface is smooth with some mottled marks.
"There seems to be a faint smell of blood on this stone platform. The smell of blood that has been there for who knows how long and cannot dissipate... Some kind of ceremony may have been held here."
Hua Hua——
Onizuka walked forward, and once again the sound of water flowed under his feet. The sound echoed in the deep and oppressive cave, and there was an indescribable weirdness to it.
She saw a torii gate in the cave space ahead. The mottled red wooden pillars were mostly rotten, but they were still barely holding up the top of the cave, intertwined with the surrounding cold stalactites.
If there is a torii, it means that the nature of this place is similar to that of a shrine.
The bright red torii gate is embedded in the deep and oppressive cave, which looks weird no matter how you look at it.
On the stone wall behind the torii, there is a thick stone door, which is tightly closed.
The little witch walked over and raised her hand to try to push.
"There seems to be a chaotic and majestic force attached to the stone door. I can't open it."
She continued to observe.
I saw a sunken circle in the center of the stone gate, about 20 centimeters in diameter.
A piece of bronze mirror fragment with a thicker edge and irregular shape is embedded in it, filling a small part of the groove, reflecting the light reflected by the talisman.
"So, there should have been a complete bronze mirror here?"
While observing the bronze mirror like this, Onizuka suddenly felt the cave shaking violently, wailing and trembling.
But fortunately, this terrifying space vibration only lasted for less than a few seconds and quickly subsided.
After regaining her balance, the little miko suddenly felt something and looked down at her left hand.
In her hand, she has been holding a small pentagonal Ema.
This was what she once gave to Kamiyagawa.
It was precisely because he inexplicably saw this Ema floating on a red string at Juqiong Shrine that Onizuka appeared in this strange place.
She held the Ema a little tighter, and the edges of the small wooden plaque stung her palms slightly.
Then suddenly, he saw that the slender red rope on the Ema appeared again, curved and fluttered, extended into the air, and then passed straight through the bronze mirror on the stone door.
The other end of the red rope is inside the bronze mirror and on the other side of the stone door.
"Achuan?"
Some thoughts and perceptions were clearly transmitted to her heart through the connection of the red rope. She couldn't explain the reason, but she could clearly know it.
"Achuan, he's on the other side of the stone gate!?"
Onizuka was stunned.
However, except for the clear feeling that the other end of the red rope was connected to the Kamiya River, she could not feel anything else.
It seems that there is no way for the two parties to communicate directly through this connection.
The little witch took about half a minute to calm down and calm down.
Then he reached out and pulled the red rope in the air.
This touch of red is ethereal, but it feels real when you hold it.
Pull.
A short pull, a short pull, then a slow pull...
Onizuka Kirihota began to try to pull the red rope rhythmically and deliberately.
Morse code.
In the countermeasures room, there is a set of Morse code for personal use, which does not correspond to English letters, but directly corresponds to the Japanese syllabary, and comes with some simple and clear command abbreviations for internal use.
Once you are familiar with it, you can use it to communicate simply and clearly with other people who have also learned this set of codes.
Of course Onizuka has systematically learned and mastered this since he was a child.
And she knew that Kamiyagawa also studied independently after joining the countermeasures room.
Generally speaking, Kamiya is a studious person.
[Achuan, are you over there? Red rope, the other end? ]
Soon, the red rope also received a stipulated pull in response.
Onizuka patiently distinguished.
[I am here. How is your situation? ]
After receiving the response, the little miko breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, it seems that I can communicate with Achuan over there.
See, there is always something wrong with learning.
You may not know which day it will come in handy.
The two parties started a brief communication and reported each other's situation. The answers given were "it is safe for now".
Then there is the exchange of intelligence about the environment in which both parties are located.
The little miko discovered that the place where Kamiya River was located seemed very similar to the cave she was currently in.
There are also five-pointed star formations, stone gates, and broken bronze mirrors.
However, there are more things on the Onizuka side than on the Kamiya side.
For example, there is scarlet turbid water, a stone platform that looks like it can accommodate a person lying on it, and a rotten torii gate.
Correspond, but not exactly.
After thinking briefly, Onizuka pulled the red rope again after the sentence on the Kamiya River came to an end.
[Yours, the bronze mirror fragment. In the groove, position? ]
[Top left, around 45 degrees. ]
[mine. Upper right, about 45 degrees. ]
Onizuka responded again, vaguely guessing.
"After the stone gate, will there be a mirror world that does not completely correspond? Similar to Achuan and I, one is outside the mirror and the other is inside the mirror?"
She passed her guess to Kamiyagawa in Morse code.
I got a quick response——
[Identify. Firefly, try to piece together the bronze mirror. The mirror is intact and I can stably break open the stone door. ]
[receive. ]
Being able to communicate with Kamiyagawa gave Onizuka a lot of peace of mind.
Moreover, she had already obtained the general information about her current location from the other party.
It is likely to be the Tsuchimikado mansion of Abe Seimei's descendant, and it is most likely related to the two pillar gods of Tenden no Mingma and Enkei Kami.
Abe Seimei and Tenden no Ming are both enshrined in Juqiong Shrine.
From this, Onizuka felt that this place might have a great connection with himself, the giant god son.
Of course, I don't rule out that I came here because of Kamiya.
But, no matter what, it happened.
In Onizuka's view, she and Kamiya were trapped at both ends of the stone gate.
The most important thing now is to find the broken bronze mirror, try to piece it together, meet Kamiyagawa, and then leave here together.
It’s not too late to study other things slowly and carefully later.
[Hotaru, Tsuchimikado's mansion is affected by divine power, so be careful. ]
On the other side of the Kamiya River, they seemed worried about the little miko's situation.
[I will. You have to be careful too. We leave together. ]
After responding to Kamiyagawa, Onizuka Kiriho took the red rope and tried to wrap it around his left wrist.
After tying a strong knot and waiting for a while, the red rope floating in the air slowly disappeared from view.
There will also be no restrictions on movement.
But as long as you hold the Ema tightly again, the excess red rope will float out again.
"Although I don't know why, it seems that the contact and contact between Achuan and I will be more stable."
Thinking of this, Onizuka Kirihot felt the beating in his chest become more and more stable.
"Am I a little dependent on Achuan? When did it start..."
Dependence is dependence, and the little witch does not deny this in her heart.
From the exchange just now, we can know that if the Kamiya River side wants to stably break through the power on the stone gate, it must be completed before the bronze mirror is completed.
It is not yet completely certain what the relationship between the two spaces inside and outside the door is.
Perhaps both sides need to complete the complete bronze mirror.
Or, the various fragments they fill into the grooves of the stone door will appear directly in each other's space.
No matter what the situation was, Onizuka had to take action.
"No matter what, I have to leave here with Achuan."
Onizuka encouraged himself like this, raised his hands to tie up his long hair, turned around and walked in the opposite direction.
If this is the end of the cave, then that side should be the entrance to the cave shrine.
…
Crash, crash.
Twisting two talismans in his right hand, and stepping on the cold turbid water under his feet, Onizuka Kirihot carefully walked along the cave towards the outside.
There are no forks in this cave, so it's not difficult to get out.
Slowly, she felt that the white foot bags on her feet were no longer soaked in water, and there was obviously light in front of her.
After leaving the cave, the view becomes wider.
The world outside was groggy, like a disturbed emulsion, and it was hard to tell whether it was day or night.
Onizuka found himself in a mountain forest, with a faint village visible in the distance.
The village is surrounded by dense forests, like a natural barrier, isolating the outside world from the village. The houses everywhere have unique architectural styles, and the ancient wooden structures are scattered in an orderly manner, but they are all gray and decayed.
A thick miasma can be seen permeating every corner of the village, floating spontaneously. Thick miasma wrapped around every piece of wood and every tile, shrouding the entire village in a depressing atmosphere.
Even further away, you can still see the endless woods and the black mountains that stretch to who knows where.
"It's so depressing. Is this the Tsuchimikado mansion that Achuan mentioned?"
Onizuka spread his right hand downwards.
Her spiritual power materialized again, and the thick golden light slowly dropped from her palm, and then quickly dissipated.
The little miko's entry into Tsuchimikado's mansion happened suddenly. She had no preparation at all. Except for some talismans, she did not bring in any of the commonly used spirit-killing tools.
Now I can only rely purely on my own spiritual power to perform activities and explore.
After sensing the surrounding environment in this way, Onizuka closed his eyes slightly and opened them again, and put his right hand down into a fist.
"There are no clues about the bronze mirror fragments now. Should I try to go to the village to have a look?"
Onizuka held the ema tied to his left wrist, briefly conveyed the information about what he saw to the Kamiya River, and then walked towards the dense forest in front of him.
The mountains and forests are covered with miasma and very humid.
Tall trees, low shrubs, ferns and moss occupy every inch of space, and the green is gloomy and strange amidst the dense miasma.
Because I was only wearing footwear for indoor activities, the rocks and dead branches on the ground were a little bit harsh on my feet.
After walking some distance towards the village, Onizuka suddenly had some sense, turned around and walked deeper into the forest.
Ahead, beneath two twisted pines, she saw a dark green tent.
"Waterproof tent... Agawa said that the Tsuchimikado mansion was probably completely destroyed after the Meiji Restoration. Although this tent is old, it does not look like a product of that era."
Onitsuka came closer.
The zipper of the tent was open, and it was filled with rotting leaves. You could still see an old blue sleeping bag. This sleeping bag looked the same as a tarpaulin tent, a more modern thing.
"It seems that it's not just me and Agawa. After the Tsuchimikado mansion supposedly disappeared, there were other people who entered this place by mistake. Well, there is also this, I wonder if it can be used for psychic communication——"
Onizuka found a few yellowed notes in the pile of fallen leaves inside the blue sleeping bag.
The notes above are blurry, but some can probably be made out:
[I seem to have been here all day, I can't see the sun, I can't see the moon, and there's no signal on my phone. The Higashiyama Mountains southeast of Kyoto, near Mount Kiyomizu and Mount Grand Cross. This is not my first time camping here, but where is this place now? ]
[I have heard from other climbers before that occasionally people disappear on this side of Dongshan and are never found again. Are those missing people here like me? Maybe I can't leave here? ]
[There are others here, absolutely! I can feel it. No, no, they, maybe, are they really human? ]
[I hear the sound of children playing. I heard them singing, "The childish goddess of Gaotianyuan,... the great god, and the things I didn't mention just now, the torn apart...", but I couldn't hear clearly. Although I wanted to go over and have a look, those children all ran away before I could get close. ]
[Are they also lost in the mountains? Or are they something else? But they are children. ]
[Hear someone running out of breath, hear someone screaming loudly. I'm scared, where should I hide? Damn it, I can't stand it anymore, I'm at my limit, I'm going crazy. ]
[I saw a young woman. She stood there, looking straight at me, and then she was gone. ]
[The woman appears again, I can feel her gaze, but I don't know where she is. ]
[I heard a sound, like shouting and singing, very sad. She was calling someone's name, but she wasn't calling me. I don't know why she was a little disappointed. I feel very lost. I feel very lost. ]
[Everything I brought has been eaten, and nothing is left. ]
[Here she comes again. ]
[Calling me, it’s time to go with her. ]
Onizuka stood in front of the tent, scanning the legible handwriting on the note, and suddenly heard——
"Ho ho..."
It was an extremely heavy breathing sound, like coming from the throat of a wild beast.
Subsequently.
Snapped!
From inside the half-open tent, a thin, pale arm stretched out, its black nails digging into the ground.
Immediately afterwards, a face that was so rotten and swollen that it was difficult to see the face suddenly popped out from under the tarpaulin. (End of chapter)